By Uche Amunike
The Lagos State Police Command has dismissed one of its officers, Sergeant Ekpo Shimuyere, for extorting a young man of the sum of N98,000 in a manner considered unethical by the Nigerian Police Force.
Speaking to newsmen, Wednesday, Spokesperson of the Lagos State Police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, stated that Shimuyere was dismissed and also disrobed by the Provost Department of the Lagos State Police Command, because he extorted 98,000 naira from a young man in a most unwarranted manner.
According to him, the police officer took the young man’s phone and transferred N98,000 out of the N100,000 in the victim’s bank account through the help of a POS operator.
He maintained that such an act was against the ethics of the police profession.
Hear him: ‘Police got the complaint from the victim and the officer denied the crime when he was contacted. The command placed him under detention so that he will not tamper with the evidence. We wrote to his bank and obtained his statement of account. We were able to trace the money to where the POS operator transferred it before transferring the money to the officer’s account.’
‘We followed due process to get his account. The victim was invited in the course of investigation, and he testified.’
‘The POS operator was also invited, and he said the officer requested him to transfer the money from the victim’s account to another one,’ Hudenyi added.
He also stated that the errant policeman was subjected to an orderly room trial, according to the dictates of the law. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Idowu Owohunwa reviewed the trial and gave a heads up for the punishment of dismissing the officer with Force Number 461654 from the police force attached to the Shogunle police division of the Lagos State Police Command.
He also warned police officers against corruption and said that the reason why officers were dismissed in cases like this was to deter others and gave his word that the Lagos State Police Command would continue to punish the police officers who were caught taking part in such conducts that were considered unprofessional and against the ethics guiding the Nigerian Police force.
According to an analysis of media reports in recent times, about 18 police officers have faced dismissal for different offences that range from gross indiscipline, abuse of power and extortion, across Nigeria.
Three senior policemen who were formerly attached to a Kano musician as escorts were caught shooting in the air in a video that went viral, and were dismissed by the Nigerian Police Force on April 13, 2023 for wastage of live ammunition, misuse of firearms, gross undisciplined and abuse of power. They were Inspector Dahiru Shuaibu, Sergeant Isah Danladi and Sergeant Abdullahi Badamasi
On April 19, 2023, Inspector Ubi Ebri was also dismissed by the Delta State Police Command for allegedly killing a 26year old man, Onyeka Ibe, for allegedly refusing to give him a bribe of N100 along Ugbolu-Illah road in Asaba, Delta state.
